2)At the time, I wasn’t thinking about its utility, the ways in which it shaped or influenced me, any more than I’d think about how playing basketball 4 days a week kept me in some semblance of shape.
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3) But being engaged w fiction all the time—serious books, less serious books—meant that I was in a constant conversation w myself about what mattered. Not what mattered in the instant. But what mattered inside, over the long haul. About the consequences of actions.
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4) About rare kindnesses. About meanness.
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5) somewhere in there, I happened to meet one of the world’s best novelists. He was 20 years older than me, about the age I am now, and he said: it gets harder to read fiction as you get older. I didn’t understand it. Couldn’t conceive of it.
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6) But now I know what he meant. And it goes to the heart of why fiction matters. Fiction stirs you up in a way nothing else can. It forces you inward, then forces your eyes to see the world around you, too, clearly, if for only a moment. Forces you to see who hurts and why.
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7) And it forces you to grapple with impermanence. With death. And its ramifications. And asks you this question: if we’re all gonna die, what is worth living for? Who is worth living for? What will you do with your time.
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8) A friend asked me today, if I wanted those novel recommendations to clear my head. To take my mind off my show, Billions. And yes, sure, that, too. But what I wanted and needed more was to dive deep. To risk being that unsettled. To remind myself of my brief place here. Now.
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9) So read something. Will ya? End.
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This thread is exactly what I needed right now. I cannot explain how much I needed it, but imagine being a 69 yr Sr, recovered bone cancer, lost partner to Alzheimer’s, & lost $$$ sec during Great Recession. Cable news replaced nonstop fiction..& then this...
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Sorry to hear all that. Wishing you the best.
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To my thinking the 1980s was a golden age of fiction. Robert Ludlum, James Clavell, Stephen King’s best work, and many others. I’ve recently started reading fiction after decades of mostly reading primarily nonfiction.
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I recommend picking up some of Steven Erickson's work. An incredible writer that the world needs to discover a la George R R Martin
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He’s a genius. Zeroville killed me.
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Dead House Gates is our fave
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Thank you. I will try harder to find quality fiction to read. I’m a slow reader and don’t have patience with much.
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Speed doesn’t matter. I only mentioned number of books I used to read as a way to explain how and why it got harder for me.
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It’s a bit of a budget thing, if it takes me a month to get through a novel, I definitely want that time spent well.
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Check out your local public library, where you can read for free!!!
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I like non-fiction, but I never can get into long, drawn out fiction stories usually. It seems like they spend a whole page describing what a room looks like. Way too much detail most times. I like it when they just get to the point. Maybe I haven't tried the right fiction.

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Try reading Cathedral by Raymond Carver. Short stories w very little of what you don’t like. Or read any of the Matt Scudder books by Lawrence Block—crime novels that don’t mess around.
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Thanks! I really do want to get better about that. I think I have the attention span of a squirrel sometimes. Lol. I'll try these and let you know what I think. Have a great Holiday!

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